Report: NBC to lose Wimbledon rights to ESPN

Sports Business Journal is reporting that NBC’s 43-year association with the Wimbledon tennis tournament is going to come to an end this week and ESPN will take over the entire contract.

If that is true, there’s some good and bad news to it. NBC has been showing some of the tournament’s late-round action on tape, a disservice to tennis fans. On the negative side, NBC’s main announcers — Ted Robinson, John McEnroe and Mary Carillo — are far better than ESPN’s mediocre cast.

According to the SBJ report, the deal has not been signed, but when finished the entire tournament will be on cable, not just the early rounds on ESPN2, as is the case now. SBJ is reporting that ESPN may give some taped weekend action to ABC. Both networks are owned by Disney.